Tern Folding Bicycles Are Unfolding

A little more objectivity please. Under what conditions were the bikes used, were the weight limits for the frames exceeded, were the bikes regularly serviced and inspected, what age were the bikes, how many miles had they travelled and so on.
I agree that Tern’s slow or lack of appropriate response is very poor.
Metal welds will fail catastrophically i .e. without warning. It would appear that that is what has happened here. I have an Eclipse S11i and fortunately no sign of cracking around the welds but I will pay close attention to them from here on in.
Interestingly I believe that there has been a compulsory recall of some Tern bikes in the US that were manufactured between certain dates. This would suggest that Tern are aware of what the problem is and when it crept into the manufacturing process. I’m guessing incompatible alloys in the welding process. Just a guess though.
It would be interesting to know how many of each frame has been been sold and what percentage of those numbers have failed. I have seen some very dramatic failures of metal frames and carbon fibre frames over the years so Tern is far from alone in this area.
Their poor response is what may be setting them apart. Quite possibly they may be being intimidated by over litigious law practices. Some claims can be outrageous – pain and suffering, medical bills, loss of earnings and missed oportunity are OK but really long term psychological dammage and a life long fear of bicycles and the associated social stigma that goes with all that. I thought bike riders were made of sterner stuff.

Just noticed the request above for objectivity. Here’s the details on my Verge X20 as an addendum to my earlier post.
Under what conditions was the bike used? Light use on smooth roads and cycle paths only for 1hr per day 3-4 days per week.
Were the weight limits for the frames exceeded? No, I weigh approx 70Kg, often with an additional 5Kg rucksack.
Was the bikes regularly serviced and inspected? Yes, every two weeks plus after every time it rains.
What age was the bike? Approx 9-10 months.
How many miles? Approx 2-3000 miles

Hello,

Does anyone know if the newer Tern frames are impacted? I’m specifically interested in the 2015 Verge X20.

thanks,
Phil.

18 months ago, my 6 month old Tern Eclipse P9 broke in half while I was riding home from work on the road. It was used for daily commutes to work of about 8 miles along well paved cycle paths and roads.
Specifically, the frame had failed along the welding of the OCL joint (the same as all the pictures here). Before I returned it to Evans cycles, I had it inspected by a qualified third party who was of the opinion that the welding was not of a high enough standard, causing the frame to break. From the very start, Evans were adamant that the frame had failed because I had failed to maintain it properly. They categorically denied there was any manufacturing defect with the frame, but at the same were unable to comment on the welding quality because they did not have the necessary expertise to do so (their words). I had the impression at the time that they were primarily concerned with absolving themselves of any blame in the accident. After eventually having to contact their managing director to get a refund and to try to highlight the danger that was(is?) affecting some Tern frames, I put the whole unfortunate (potentially fatal) incident behind me vowing to never buy from Evans or ride a Tern bike again (being aware that mine was not a isolated case). During this, Tern kept very quiet and the only communication I received from them was that I return my bicycle to Evans as soon as possible.

Evans obviously haven’t updated their data, as last week I received a product recall email from them asking me to stop riding my Eclipse immediately and to return it to them as soon as possible. I contacted their help-desk by phone and they confirmed the recall is due to unsafe frames.

It is my opinion that Evans’s refusal to even consider that there was a fault with the frame has contributed to a delay in the product recall.

I know that anything that can be built can go wrong – but there have been quite a few different models of Tern bikes that have all been affected by the same issue and there is obviously a problem in the manufacturing process somewhere. I don’t agree with the logic that so many tens of failures in so many tens of thousands of bikes manufactured is acceptable. If this continues, it is only a matter of time before someone is killed.